< Index GRAPHS
Diagrams show data in visual form, giving a complete viewing of the matter.
The most largely used graphic displays are the flow-chart, the bar-chart, the pie-chart and the tree-diagram.
FLOW CHART
The flow-chart is used for describing processes and is represented as a sequence of the signs linked by flow-lines. Among the most important symbols used in flow-charts is the oval sign, which shows the beginning and the end of a process, the diamond which indicates two possible directions, the rectangle which represents a step of the process.
BAR CHART
The bar-chart is a graph where bars of various heights and lengths are used to indicate quantities.
PIE CHART
The pie-chart is a circle scheme used to show the whole quantity; each slice of the pie indicates the percentages.
TREE DIAGRAM
The tree-diagram is a graph which shows the belonging of elements to a category and is used for classification.
The description of a graph is the interpretation of information it gives.You may find it useful to learn some words used for describing diagrams:
|
direction |
up |
down |
level |
|
verb |
not change, remain constant |
||
|
noun |
increase, rise |
decline, decrease, drop, fall |
no change |
|
adjective |
, gradual, sharp, slight, steady, sudden |
|
|
|
adverb |
fast, gradually, sharply, slightly, steadily, suddenly |
|
|
Here are some sentences referring to the graphs above:
FLOW CHART
"To start a car, put the gear lever in the neutral
position, then, as a first step, insert the key into the ignition
switch; as a second step, turn the key clockwise: the engine
starts (A1), the engine doesn't start (A2)".
BAR CHART
"The selling of notebooks rises sharply in
2000".
"There is a sudden drop of notebooks selling in 2001".
"The selling of PCs decreases slightly from 1999 to 2001".
PIE CHART
"Fifty-seven percent of Italian people have a mobile phone."
TREE DIAGRAM
"A computer system is composed of two main elements:
hardware and software".